How To Save $100k on Legal Fees Using a Startup Lawyer

Most startups find their first lawyers via their personal network.

“I know a guy who knows a guy.” — Saul Goodman

That’s how I started, too.

My co-founder and I got an intro to Orrick who temporarily delayed our first $10,000 of legal fees until we raised a seed round.

The first $10,000 included our company’s legal structure, incorporation, cap table, and our first convertible notes.

It was definitely more expensive than it had to be.

From there, my co-founder and I personally handled a lot of the duplicate work for our seed round raise, as well as drafted our own legal documents with help from free legal document templates online.

That saved us around $40,000 if we were going by Orrick’s rates ($200-$800/hour).

The other $60,000 was saved by actually working with a startup lawyer.

Whenever I needed legal work that I couldn’t do myself, I went to UpCounsel.com — a marketplace for on-demand legal services.

I’d usually save up to 60% off what a traditional law firm would charge for the same services.

Also, when I needed a specific legal specialty UpCounsel was a godsend.

I found some of the most impressive startup attorneys I’ve met who specialized in everything from real estate law to trademark contracts.

Full list of specialties I used:

-Trademarks
-Contract Review
-Real Estate Law
-Terms of Use
-Privacy Policy
-General Counsel
-Fundraising
-Geographic

My most used attorney was Jennifer Wang — who I swear by to this day.

So, if you like to save money on legal bills, here’s $100 off UpCounsel to start.

And remember, don’t Facebook it up.